Publisher's Summary

All Akira's life, he dreamt of being more than just a samurai. His sensei finds his martial arts inadequate, and he's taunted by another young samurai who has killed a dragon. But Akira has a secret. He's been training with the Tengu - magical wind-spirits who excel at fighting.

Only things aren't what they appear, and unbeknownst to Akira, he isn't quite human. A dragon threatening his home island reveals his true identity and he's sent on a journey where if he chooses to use his magic, he'll be put to death, or worse. But if he doesn't, demons will overrun the world.

Mispronounced Japanese Words & Names Distracting

I'm still struggling to make myself listen to this narration to the end, but I'm unlikely to download another read by Mr. Scarlato if I knew there might be any significant use of non-English words.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Samurai Son?

The point at which the repeated mispronunciation of _neko_ (NEH-co, not NEE-co) actually made me groan aloud and fight the urge to hurl my iPod across the room.

Would you be willing to try another one of Roberto Scarlato’s performances?

Perhaps. Aside from the obvious lack of preparation for a work in which non-English terms are such an integral part, I'm afraid I found his performance almost mechanical. While I wasn't expecting a reader of Bronson Pinchot's caliber (he is my current "high-water mark" when it comes to audiobook narration), I was hoping for a performance with more life.

That said, I'm willing to give anyone a second chance. Usually.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Amazon Customer

29-04-2016

Hard to listen to

The story was fun, but the butchering of even common Japanese words was extremely distracting. And, they weren't even mispronounced the same way each time. Along with long pauses in places that didn't make sense and a few places where words or sentences were repeated, will cause me to avoid anything narrated by Mr. Scarlato in the future.